The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1887-04-16
COWBOY LIFE FROM THE FOOT
OF THE ROCKIES.

A Meeteetse CIV. T. letter says So
much has been written during the past year
or so about the range cattle business that
eastern people are becoming pretty
thoroughly posted on that subject. But
an account of some of the experiences which
the cowboys are obliged to undergo while
in the handling of cattle on the trail may
still be Of interest to the people back in
the States. While driving to the railroad
for shipments to the eastern markets a
bunch of thousand or fifteen hundred
head of beef steers, the aggregate value of
which may be estimated at from 10000
to S75, 900, it necessarily follows that it is
of the utmost importance to use the great
est care and most watchful vigilance upon
all occasions. Even with the best manage
ment there will be more or less shrinkage
in their weight from the time they are first
gathered on the range until they arrive at
the market, and the more they are excited
or moved about the greater will it be. In
case of stampede which is not checked
they will sometimes run from twenty-five
to fifty miles, and not only will the shrink
age be irTeparable, but it will be almost an
| impossibility to gatkrr them all again dur
ing the season. As can readily be seen,
great responsibility rests upon the foreman
in charge of such an outfit.
TIcKLIsH CATTLE TO HANDLE.
Among all classes of cattle there are
none possessing so many different moods as
the beef steer. At times he seems to dis
play remarkable intelligence and to reason
to himself the why and the wherefore of
things, and again he will act so unreason-
ably that it will appear as if he had no
brains at all. He may be as Indifferent
and unmoved at sight or sound of some
thing that one would naturally expect to
cause the greatest alarm with him, and the
sudden bark of prairie-dog or coyote, that
he has been familiar with all his life, may
start him off like rocket, with tail in the
air and going at breakneck pace, he knows
nor cares not where. The men employed
on the beef drive should be experienced
and ready at all times to meet any emer-
gency, and always quiet and cool around
the herd, thus inspiring confidence and a
feeling of security in the animal.
AFTER ROUNDING UP.
A short time ago 1 read an account of a
beef stampede, during which, while the
men on herd were attempting to check 1t
and one of them was racing neck and neck
with the leaders of the frightened and
frantic mass, his horse made a misstep and
fell with its rider, neither of them ever to
raise again, from under the hoofs of the
flying herd which, unable to check its mad
flight and needless of all obstacles and
everything but their own unreasonable
crazed desire to fly rushed onward into the
darkness beyond and left behind them two
crushed and lifeless forms. Upon reading
that account was reminded of an expert
enco of my own, without such terrible
ending, however, while on the trail from
Northern Wyoming to the Northern Pacific
railroad with about 1000 head of extra
fine beeves.
1t was about the middle of September.
We had finished gathering and were ready
to start for the road in the morning. We
were camped for the night near the head
of Meeteetse, little creek flowing into the
Grey Bull river and close to the foot of Che
Rocky mountains. The surrounding
country was rough and broken and covered
with coarse growth of sagebrush, ,and the
banks of the stream were in most places
high and pYecipitons, making the location
on the whole nasty place for stampede
A storm had been brewing for several
days, and during the afternoon the clouds
commenced to gather and were hurried
hither and thither by frequent and appar-
emily angry gusts of wind. By sundown
the heavens presented an ominous and
threatening look, and promised to make
things lively for the first ''Felief," anyway.
HOW THE BovINEs ARE GUARDED.
As possibly some may be ignorant of the
manner of handling the beef-herd at night
it may be well to explain right here. The
"outft' is divided up into ''reliefs,7 usu-
ally two men to each, and each ''relief'
goes on herd in its turn and watches the
cattle for two or three hours through the
night
AS night approaches several of the men
ride out and "round up the cattle as
closely as possible, without crowding
them, on some comparatively smooth space
not too far from camp. After they are
:'rounded up" on the tsbed ground, and
have quieted down somewhat, the first
''relief" takes charge of them, and the two
men ride slowly around the heard in ops
posite directions. If everything is salts
factory to his hovine majesty, he will very
soon lie down, and, after chewing the cud
of contentment or grass for awhile, doze
off and snore as comfortably as men are
sometimes said to do.
FIRST RELIEF ON HERD.
But to continue my story: A Mormon
boy and myself were on first "relief."
When we went to the herd it had been
rounded up, and a few of them were alrea-
dY lying down. The majority of them,
however, were grazing as eagerly as though,
instead of doing nothing but eat all of the
afternoon, they had been fasting for a day
or two. Every now and then some excit-
able acritter" would raise his head and sniff
the air as if to discover the cause of his
uneasiness, for cattle are as much affected
by the change of temperature as the ther-
mometer. They seem to know by instinct
that something unusual is about to occur,
and will plainly indicate by their actions
the approach Of Storm Presently the
wind stopped blowing, and it was but
short time before we had the most of the
cattle lying down. 1t was growing very
dark, however, with heavy leaden clouds
slowly gathering over us, and We knew that
althosgh the elements were so quiet they
could not be trusted, and we were antici-
pating most any emergency. Our COM
parative peace was of short duration, for it
soon commenced to rain-ine, drinling.
cold, and penetrating We were fortunate
ly prepared for this, and were protected by
our ssslickers" and 'schaps" pronounced
shaps-an abbreviation of chaperqjos, and
applied to the leather leggings worn by the
cowboys).
DARK ON THE PRAIRIE.
The cattle didn't like it, and at frequent
intervals would express their dissatisfac-
ton by low bellowings, and it was but